In an earlier post (check it out here) I proposed that YPP readers kick off 2006 right by researching, writing about and discussing new policy ideas that we think can help create a lot of decent paying, long-term and sustainable jobs. I hope a lot you of you will meet this challenge and that we can have a good debate and discussion to help take our city somewhere new.

I’ll start us off by presenting my idea (that has been discussed by many others before) to use an expansion of public transportation to create new jobs, improve the city’s neighborhoods and bridge the gap between all Philadelphians.

Click “read more” below to learn more.

Before I present my idea, I ask that you all be kind. I realize I am a huge dork.

My idea:

Use the capital budgets of our two local transit agencies to build new subway and light rail lines. Transit, particularly rail transit, has a proven track record across the country of moving commuters, shoppers and others quickly and cheaply around town. Trolley tracks and railroad ties are visual symbols that transit is available in a community which means that trolleys and trains tend to have higher ridership on the whole than buses (because people know they are there).

Additionally, communities with trolleys and trains often spur neighborhood development (look no further than the Bronx and Queens in NYC in the early 20th century and the green line in DC for evidence of this, not to mention West Philadelphia, our own beloved streetcar suburb. And the country’s fastest growing cities in the Pacific NW and the SW parts of the country have all started to make major ($10 billion plus) investments in rail transit.

Specifically for spurring growth via transit in Philly, these are the projects I have in mind:

1- Use rail lines to strengthen regional access to jobs and homes. We could expand access to the city and the burbs by supporting two plans that have already been proposed. The first, as proposed by SEPTA, is to expand the Rt. 100, Norristown High-Speed line from its current Norristown terminus to KOP. The second, as proposed by PATCO is to create a new commuter train into Gloucester county and parts of Cumberland county that can link with the current high-speed line.

2- Improve rapid transit access for Philadelphians in order to increase opportunities for good jobs and housing within the city . The first idea I have here is to create a light rail line that runs down the middle of Roosevelt Blvd from Frankford terminal up to the edge of the city. SEPTA has asked for funding to do a feasibility study of this already. Some have suggested running an extension of the Broad Street subway under the Boulevard, but light rail could run down the median for a lot cheaper. The second idea I’d like to suggest is a bit more out there, but has in many ways a larger impact: Build 2 new subway lines: one to run diagonally from Gray’s Ferry to 5th and Olney via Fitler Square, Rittenhouse, Old City, N. Libs, Fishtown, etc. The other line would run from Strawberry Mansion to Queen Village via Fairmount, the Parkway, the gayborhood, Society Hill, and South Street. This basically would be like adding an “X” to the “T” currently formed by the El and the Sub.

3- Create a Transit Tourist Destination. Build a new light rail line, using historic trolleys, that runs from 8th and Market to Delaware Ave to serve the movie theatre, Target, Ikea, new casinos etc. The terminus of the trolley could be at the current 8th and Market Disney hole. A hotel and SEPTA museum could be built on the spot which would be a great link for tourists between the historic areas and the rest of the city.

Who could implement my idea

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The SEPTA and the PATCO boards would be responsible for approving capital budgets that include new construction and line operation. SEPTA already includes some of these ideas (like the Blvd. light rail and the Rt. 100 expansion) but then doesn’t actually get the revenue needed to fund them.

So, in order for this idea to really take off, the Mayor and Council would have to allocate some funds and write some bonds too and then join influential city leaders in lobbying the state and the feds for more. And remember, capital budget money is easier to come by than operating revenue.

How much it would cost

The current SEPTA budget includes a cost projection for Rt. 100 expansion at about $3 billion.

PATCO is already talking about plans to building light rail along Delaware Ave and expanding commuter rail service into Gloucester county (a really good idea). They were just awarded $1.5 million by the state of NJ to create phase 2 of a feasibility analysis which will probably include a more accurate cost projection, but I would guess that $6-9 billion is not too far off.

A new light rail line along the Boulevard, based on the cost of rt. 15 restoration and also looking at light rail service costs in other parts of the country would probably require about $2 billion.

Finally, the most expensive of my proposals would be the two new subway lines. It is kind of hard to predict with accuracy the cost, especially as there is a lot of density in the neighborhoods these lines would go through, but I think any where from $8 to $15billion seems about right.

In total, for the transit expansion projects I propose above, we are talking anywhere from $20-$30 billion in capital spending. This may seem like a lot of money. However, because a lot it could be bonded, the actual cash outlay would be a lot less. A billion dollars a year for 30 years is a better way to think of the expense. And, as I will report in the next section, this level of transit infrastructure investment would have an astounding impact on our city’s economy which would pay for the $1 billion a year in debt service easily.

Define the quality of the jobs that would be created, as well as the number
It’s hard to predict exactly how many jobs the particular expansions I have proposed will create. However, SEPTA’s 2005 actual capital budget was about $500 million and SEPTA employed a little less than 10,000 people. So, I am proposing a 600% increase in the capital side of the budget which, simplistically, means about 6000 new jobs.

Now, that’s a gerrymandered figure as the dollar-to-job ratio doesn’t really hold true: 6,000 new jobs might be created but probably only about 2000 of them would be permanent (token booth operators, drivers, maintenance, mechanics and management). The other 4000 new jobs created would probably be in construction or manufacturing (someone has to dig tunnels, lay track, hang wire, build the trolleys and train cars, etc.).

The manufacturing and construction jobs would be less permanent obviously. However, at this scale of construction, some folks could literally work for 20 years building these new lines. And, since this size construction job is unusual and is all funded by public dollars, there are huge opportunities to create apprentice programs for people of color and women. Even though the jobs they get might not last forever, this would be a chance to get a whole new generation of building trades workers who aren’t as white and suburban as the current crop.

In terms of manufacturing jobs, there are no large traction builders left in the city. We used to serve as the center of the transit world when both Baldwin Locomotive company in SW Philly and the Budd Company in Hunting Park and eventually the Northeast built trains and engines for the world over.

However, again, because of the scale, the city could contract with an outside company but require that a plant be built here to employ as many Philadelphians as possible in constructing the literally thousands of train cars and trolleys, as well as track, this project would require.

Who will benefit from this idea? Will all Philadelphians benefit?

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The number of jobs created would bring in something like $120 million a year in additional wage tax and about $250 million in additional BPT just from the jobs created by SEPTA.

Freeing the roads of cars will make shipping goods into and out of Philadelphia even more attractive (improving infrastructure) than our central location already makes it for distribution companies. Making it easier and more convenient to work in Philadelphia makes our city all the more desirable to large corporations looking to relocate and helps the ones we already have to decide to stay.

Getting people off the road and onto trains and trolleys make commuting more relaxing and is a natural way to build community. The result is more people in the workforce, and improved communication and relationships in neighborhoods.

Add into this all of the other higher-wage jobs that Philadelphians will have access to in the burbs (not to mention the wage taxes derived from those commuting into the city) which will bring more wage tax revenue into city coffers.

New construction of housing as well as the increased sales of o in short, existing stock that will be the result of more transit development also bring revenue into both the city and the state.

Increasing the quality of the experience for tourists in Philadelphia means that a visitor is more likely to return or say good things about the city to friends. San Francisco is an example of a city that has very effectively used transit (ironically, via its former Philadelphia trolleys) to lure tourists in. The result of more tourists in Philadelphia is more money for restaurants and hotel owners, it means more hotel room taxes for the city and it means that more and more people around the country think of Philadelphia as a place to vacation.

When you tally up all the benefits of a careful expansion of public transit, $1 B in debt service a year to the bonds that fund all of this new construction becomes a much more manageable portion of the city budget. And, clearly the investment in the future of the city will reap rewards for literally the next 100 years.

And, who benefits? All of us do.

A note about math: calculations of tax, number of jobs created and costs of construction are all heavily estimated. This sure isn’t my expertise, so please be kind in your reaction to these numbers as they are meant to imply a kind of thinking rather than a precise cost estimate.